Johnny Newman named to Virgina Sports Hall of Fame

By Damien Sordelett
Published: January 19, 2011

DANVILLE — Former George Washington basketball standout Johnny Newman was elected to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2011, chosen by vote of the statewide Honors Court committee.

“The Class of 2011 is an example of the quality of athletes and coaches that are being produced across the Commonwealth,” Hall of Fame president Eddie Webb said in a written release. “Each nominee’s resume is recognized on a national or international level proving the point that the State of Virginia is one of the leaders in producing this nation’s top competitors.”

Newman, 47 and a Richmond resident, is a 1986 graduate of the University of Richmond and is the Spiders’ all-time leading scorer with 2,383 points. He was the 1983 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the year and the conference’s player of the year as a sophomore. He led the Spiders to the NCAA Tournament in 1984 and 1986, the latter marking the first time a CAA school received an at-large bid into the 64-team field.

He was named the most valuable player for the 1984 CAA Tournament and was drafted 29th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft.

During his 16-year career, the 6-foot-7 forward scored 12,740 points in 1,169 games for seven different franchises. His most successful year was in the 1988-89 season when he teamed with Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson to lead the New York Knights to the Atlantic Division title. He averaged 16 points per game during that season. He recorded a career-high 16.9 points per game in the 1990-91 season after he was traded to the newly formed Charlotte Hornets.

He is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Silver Anniversary Team (1985-2010) and is a member of the 1991 University of Richmond Athletic Hall of Fame.